Site Plan Review and Entitlements
Summary
Site plan review and entitlements are the local approvals a project needs before a building permit: staff review of the site plan, and where required a rezoning, conditional use permit, variance, or other hearing. The path, fees, and time depend on what the project needs, so identify the approvals in the first meeting with planning staff and carry their schedule into the project plan.
Cols
Scope
- Procedures, fees, and timelines are set by each local ordinance and department. Always verify the municipal code's definitions and the current zoning and procedures for the project parcel
- Covers the common stages of site plan review, the approvals that sit beside it, and how approval hands off to building permit review
- The standards the review checks are in the other zoning notes
Terminology
- Entitlements: the discretionary and administrative land use approvals that give the right to build a project
- Site plan: a scaled drawing of the proposed development showing buildings, parking, access, utilities, grading, and landscaping
- Pre-application meeting: an early meeting with staff, often free, to review a concept
- Administrative review: staff approval without a public hearing
- Planning commission: the board that reviews and decides or recommends on site plans and discretionary approvals
- Public hearing: a noticed meeting where the public can comment
- Conditions of approval: requirements attached to an approval
- Rezoning (zoning map amendment): a legislative change of a parcel's district, decided by the governing body
- Conditional use permit and variance: discretionary approvals covered in their own notes
- Building permit: the construction approval issued after planning approval
Requirements
Typical steps
- Pre-application meeting: some cities offer a free conceptual review that helps expedite approval
- Application and completeness check: the planning department confirms the submittal is complete and routes it to other departments such as engineering, fire, and utilities
- Staff review: comments are collected and returned to the applicant; staff makes a recommendation to approve, approve with conditions, or deny
- Decision: administratively by staff, or by the planning commission after a public hearing; the body may approve, approve with conditions, postpone, or deny
- Revisions and conditions: the applicant revises plans to reflect conditions; approval is typically documented in a letter and the plan is stamped
- Handoff: planning staff forwards the approved plan to the building division for permit review
- Expiration: approved plans lapse if the project does not proceed within the stated period and must be resubmitted
Related approvals
- Rezoning, conditional use, variance, and overlay approvals may be required in addition to or before site plan review
- Some projects need approval by more than the planning commission, such as a board of zoning appeals or the city council; staff identifies these during review
- Rezonings are legislative acts reviewed by courts for being arbitrary or unrelated to police power; owners have no vested right in a district staying the same
Timelines
- Review that goes to a public hearing takes materially longer than administrative review
- Hearing schedules, notice periods, and resubmittals add time; revised submittals restart parts of the review
Typical site plan contents
- Property lines, easements, and rights-of-way; building footprints and setbacks; parking, drives, and loading
- Grading, drainage, utilities, and stormwater
- Landscaping, buffers, lighting, and signs
- Zoning data table showing district, lot area, coverage, floor area ratio, height, parking, and open space against the requirement
Worked examples
Schedule from approvals
A mixed-use project in a district where the restaurant is a conditional use.
| Stage | Path | Schedule note |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-application | Meeting with staff | Identifies the conditional use early |
| Application and completeness | Submittal, routing | Clock starts when the application is complete |
| Staff review and comments | Return and resubmit | Each resubmittal adds a review cycle |
| Conditional use hearing and commission decision | Notice, hearing | Fixed by the commission's meeting dates and notice period |
| Revisions and approval letter | Conditions | Plans revised to match conditions |
| Building permit review | After planning approval | Per the building department |
The conditional restaurant moves the project from administrative review to the hearing path, which lengthens the schedule.
Zoning data table
For a 10,000 sq ft lot in a district with illustrative standards.
| Item | Required | Proposed | Complies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lot area | 6,000 sq ft minimum | 10,000 sq ft | Yes |
| Floor area ratio | 1.5 maximum | 1.4 (14,000 sq ft) | Yes |
| Lot coverage | 60 percent maximum | 55 percent (5,500 sq ft) | Yes |
| Height | 45 ft maximum | 42 ft | Yes |
| Parking | Per the ordinance's ratios | 43 spaces | Compare against the calculated count |
Coordination
- Planning staff: one point of contact for interpretations, forms, and schedule
- Engineering, fire, and utilities: each reviews the plan; fire access and hydrants shape the site
- Owner and attorney: hearings, conditions, and legal agreements may need legal review
- Neighbors and community: notice requirements and neighborhood meetings affect the schedule and conditions
- Building permit set: keep the planning set and permit drawings consistent so changes do not need a new review
- Consultants: civil, traffic, landscape, and historic consultants provide the studies and sheets the review asks for
Common issues
- Incomplete submittal: the clock does not start until the application is complete
- Late discovery of required approvals: an overlay, conditional use, or variance appears after design begins
- Changes after approval: substantial changes may require a new review
- Conditions in conflict with the building design: learn them before design development
- Approval expiration: missing the start date forces resubmittal
- Zoning data table errors: inconsistent areas between the table and the drawings draw comments
Standards
- Local zoning ordinance: application requirements and procedures
- Planning department checklists and forms: submittal requirements
Sources
- City of Oak Park, MI: site plan review application, https://www.oakparkmi.gov/media/documents/site-plan-review-application.pdf
- City of Winchester, VA: site plan brochure, https://www.winchesterva.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/community-development/planning/site-plan-brochure-2016.pdf
- City of Dearborn, MI: guide to administrative site plan review, https://dearborn.gov/sites/default/files/2026-02/Guide to Administrative Site Plan Review.pdf
- Wikipedia: Zoning in the United States, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoning_in_the_United_States